


Project: Zero-One

by MaximumMightyX



Series: Zero-One Reimagined [1]
Category: Kamen Rider Zero-One, Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), ラブライブ! 虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 | Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28428315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaximumMightyX/pseuds/MaximumMightyX
Summary: This is an alternate universe interpenetration of Zero-One. In this universe, Aruto is the grandson of Takasaki Hongo and has to deal with trying to live up to his Grandfather's legacy while combating a resurfaced Shocker organization calling themselves Cyber Shocker. The girls from Nijigasaki will also be making an appearance in this story as well. This story takes inspiration from the 2011 Ultraman Manga.
Series: Zero-One Reimagined [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2082249
Comments: 24
Kudos: 21





	1. Ichigou and Ichigata

Kamen Riders. Masked Heroes that fought for Peace and Justice. Over the years, they have fought countless enemies that have threatened the peace. The first of these riders was Takasaki Takeshi, Kamen Rider Ichigo. He was initially captured by Shocker and forced to undergo a procedure that changed him into a superpowered cyborg enslaved by Shocker. Before the brainwashing process could be completed, he escaped and dedicated his life to fighting for humanity’s freedom and against the Shocker. Eventually, Shocker was brought down by him, and the world entered an era of peace. Decades later, the stories about Ichigo became legend and a thing of the past. This a story about a world where Kamen Riders are a thing of the past.

Takasaki Soreo was inside his office, working away at his computer. It was in the middle of the afternoon. He was already knee-deep in contracts and paperwork he had to fill out for his company, Hidden Intelligence, a tech company specialized in making top of the line security equipment and the forefront innovators in artificial intelligence.

He leaned back on his chair while covering his eyes.

“Oh my god. I’m never going to get all of this done. I need a break.”

He slowly got up from his seat and shuffled over to the water cooler, where he drank a few cups of water. As he finished, his phone started to ring.

“Hello? This is Takasaki Soreo of Hiden Intelligence. Who is this?”

“Hello, Takasaki. It’s me, Will. We’ve got something important to talk about. Can you meet me in my office tonight?”

“Okay.”

Later that night, Soreo step into Will’s office.

“So, what’s up?”.

Will had a solemn look on his face. “Is everybody gone?”

“Yes, everybody left a while ago. I stayed back to work a bit more.”

“Okay, good. I want to show you something.”

He gestured for him to come closer to his computer.

“Look at this.”

He brought various news articles up on his computer.

“Are these…?”

“Various kidnappings that’s been happening lately. Normally, I wouldn’t be bringing your attention to this and leaving it to the authorities, but this time is special.”

He enlarged the images.

“The victims are all scientists and engineers. Ranging from biologists and chemists to mechanics and engineers. Do you know what this means?”

Soreo thought for a moment before widening his eyes.

“Shocker.”

“That’s what I’m thinking as well. But we don’t have any evidence, so we can’t come to any conclusions. But if they really are back, then we have to be ready for them. Which is why…”

He brought out several blueprints and laid them on the table. They were full of detail and were designs for various suits of armour and devices.

“When did you?”

“It’s a secret project I’ve been working on for some time. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before.”

Soreo scanned the blueprints briefly

“These are…Kamen Rider suits?”

“Yes. With Shocker on the rise again, we need to bring back the heroes who opposed them. I know your Father is still very active and combat-ready, but we can’t rely on him forever; he’s already pushing 70 years old. The world needs a new symbol to believe in.”

He then brought out another blueprint and laid it on the table. This time it was a design of the circular satellite.

“Of course, we can’t run it all by ourselves. That’s why I made plans for an autonomous satellite. It’s called Zea; it will be in charge of running and providing equipment to the Rider as well as linking them to the satellite’s database.”

He brought out a small device as well as a key card-like device.

“This is the Cyclone Riser and Rocking Hopper Zetsumerise Key. They’re prototypes I made for you. You may not have to use them, but just in case Shocker ever rises up again. I need you to stand up and fight them.”

The Cyclone Riser was silver-grey in colour with red accents. It had a slot for inserting the Zetusumerise key with a red trigger on the top and bottom for activating it. The key itself was dark green in colour with an image of a grasshopper on the side.

“But why me?”

“Because you’re Takeshi’s son. I don’t know if you realized this, but you two are a lot more alike than you think. You have a strong sense of justice, and you don’t hesitate to help those in need. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I can’t ask your son or daughter to do this; they’re far too young to handle this kind of responsibility. I can only rely on you. So I’m saying this as not as your head technician or someone who admires your Father. I’m saying this as your best friend. We need you to become Kamen Rider Ichigata.”

Soreo brought out a picture from his pocket and looked at it. It showed him with his two kids, Yu Takasaki and Aruto Takasaki, no older than 6 years old. After a brief moment of contemplation, he took a deep breath and made his decision.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

“We’re counting on you…Kamen Rider Ichigata.”

*10 Years Later*

“Aru…to.”

Aruto felt something shake him, but he was too sleepy to register who or what it is was.

“Aruto…Aruto.”

The shaking gradually got rougher, as Aruto could vaguely make out a female voice.

“TAKASAKI ARUTO!”

Aruto slowly opened his eyes to see his sister Yu trying to shake him awake.

“Get up, Aruto. You’re going to be late for school.”

“Yu? How did you even get into my room?”

“You left me a spare key in case something like this ever happened. Now hurry up and get ready. Ayumu is already waiting for us outside.”

“Alright, alright, I’m up. Now leave my room so I can get ready.”

Aruto dismissively waved for Yu to leave as she exited his room. After he got his school uniform and cleaned up his appearance, he went outside to meet up with Yu and Ayumu.

“Morning Ayumu. Morning Yu.”

“Morning, Sleepyhead.”

“Morning, Aruto.”

The three then proceeded to walk to school together while chatting along the way.

“I assume you guys have School Idol activities after school as always?”

“That’s right. We have a live planned soon, and the girls are practicing as hard as they can.”

“That’s nice. I wish I had something like that I could focus on and work towards.”

“Ever think about joining the club and becoming an idol yourself? I’m sure you’d be popular.”

Yu jokingly teased Aruto while elbowing his chest.

“Shut up. You know I’m not cut out for that stuff.”

“That’s what everybody says in the beginning.”

“I’m serious, Yu. Ayumu, you agree with me, right?”

“I’m not really sure. I never hang out with you outside of when I’m with Yu, but I’m sure if you try, you can do it.”

Aruto slightly chuckled at that comment as they reached school.

Elsewhere in a remote part of the city, a man was dragged into a fortress by several goons dressed in all black; they’re faced covered by black luchador masks. On the waist was an insignia featuring a giant bird, wings extended to the side, perched over the world—the symbol of Shocker.

“Who are you, people? Where you taking me?”

The goons didn’t respond; they only threw him into a room filled with lab equipment. Testbeds were scattered all around the room, as well as human-sized containers; a giant circular device stood in the middle giving off an eerie red glow. Different men dressed in hazmat suit proceeded to grab him and stuff him in of the containers. They closed the lid as the machine whirred to life. The man screamed in pain as his body felt like it was being set on fire. His skin started to peel off, revealing the fleshy interior before being transformed and replaced with circuits and machinery. The scientist then inserted a Zetsumerise Key titled ‘Berotha’ into the machine as it announced, “ _Zetsumetrise!_ ”. The man’s body glowed bright green before armour materialized around him, transforming him into a monster.

The scientist opened the lid and helped the newly formed Berotha Magia out of the tube. His head was replaced by a metallic grasshopper head as his body was covered in black and silver armour. Two daggers resembling grasshopper legs appearing by his side as he took them in his hands and admired them. He roared profusely before turning towards the scientist.

“For the glory of Shocker.”

The scientists nodded and responded in kind.

“FOR THE GLORY OF SHOCKER!”

Once classes were done for the day, they went their separate ways.

“Alright, I’m gonna head home now. Have fun with your club activities, guys. I’ll see you at home.”

“Bye, Aruto.”

“Bye, Aruto.”

Aruto got on his bike and started to pedal home as Yu and Ayumu left towards their club room. However, the ride home would not go as smoothly as Aruto would have hoped. As he rode home, a giant explosion occurred near him, nearly making him fall over. As he stabilized himself, he looked towards where the explosion had happened and made a faint outline of a humanoid grasshopper. It was the Berotha Magia, laughing maniacally as he swung his daggers around, releasing wave after wave of destructive energy.

Aruto screamed in fear as he scrambled to pedal away from the Magia’s destructive onslaught. The Magia took noticed of Aruto’s screams and turned towards him.

“Trying to run, eh? GOOD! I love a good chase!”

The Berotha Magia darted towards Aruto at an almost inhuman speed, wildly slicing at the air before unleashing a precise energy wave that cleaves through his bike with ease. Aruto fell to the ground with a harsh thud as the Berotha Magia slowly inched toward him, sharpening his daggers with malicious intent. Fear had consumed him as he desperately tried to crawl away from the oncoming Magia.

“Say your prayers!”

The Magia raised his daggers as Aruto braced himself for his incoming death. However, before the Magia could drive his daggers in Aruto, he was suddenly blown away by a gust of wind.

“What the hell is this?”

Aruto hesitantly looked towards the side to see someone familiar; it was his Father.

“Dad…?”

“Are you okay, Aruto?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. But what are you doing here?”

Soreo rushed over to protect Aruto as he brought out the Cyclone Driver.

“I’ll explain everything later. For now, get behind me.”

“Wait. What’s going on? Who is that monster?”

“GET BEHIND ME!”

Soreo shouted his orders as Aruto quickly and obediently rushed behind his Father. Soreo then placed the Driver around his waist as it wrapped itself around him, forming a belt. He proceeded to active his Rocking Hopper Key.

“ _Kamen Rider.”_

“Transform!”

He inserted the key into the Driver and pulled the trigger flipping the key open.

“ _CYCLONE RISE!”_

A giant dark blue coloured grasshopper emerged from the Driver as Soero was enveloped by a miniature cyclone of the same colour. The grasshopper then surrounded Soero and broke itself apart into separate armour pieces attaching itself to his black undersuit with cables as the cyclone evaporated.

_“ROCKING HOPPER!”_

_“TYPE 1.”_

Soreo, now transformed as Kamen Rider Ichigata, stood before the Berotha Magia.

“This can’t be-. You’re…a Kamen Rider?”

“That’s right. I’m a Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider Ichigata!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of what I presume will be many more chapters to come. This project has been in the works for about a month now and I'm happy that it's finally showing some results. I can come with this idea after watching the Ultraman Anime and finishing Zero-One. Since Zero-One is the first Reiwa Rider and his design is very much a callback to the original Kamen Rider, I wanted to have a fusion of the two and see what I can make of it. At first I was having trouble incorporating the transformation sounds and process since there's a lot of them and the transformations themselves have a lot of visual elements to them that's not easy to put on paper. I hope I managed to convey these transformations to you. I decided to use italics to differentiate the driver sounds from human sounds so that it would be easy to tell them apart since these drivers tend to talk a lot. Anyway, I hope you look forward to future chapters.
> 
> \- GMMX


	2. Zero-One

“That's right. I'm a Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider Ichigata!"

The Berotha Magia roared at him as Ichigata charged towards him, clasping their hands together before pushing against each other in a test of strength. Ichigata eventually overpowered him, throwing him into a nearby wall, making a resonating thud sound. The Magia got up, brushing himself off before firing off several energy waves at Ichigata. Ichigata's scarf glowed bright red in response as he effortlessly dodging each wave at inhuman speeds before rapidly landing a combination of punches and kicks at the Magia's softer areas, sending him flying backwards.

The Magia angrily got up, now more angry than ever, as Ichigata turned towards him.

"Oh? You're still up? Hmph. You're sturdier than I thought."

"YOU BASTARD! I KILL YOU ALL!"

"I'd like to see you try. Let's finish this."

He pushed and pulled the trigger on his Riser, activating his finisher.

" _ROCKING SPARK!"_

Energy surged through the suit as Ichigata prepared to finish off the Magia. He began to dash towards the Magia, but before he could land a hit, his body was suddenly subjected to an immense and shocking pain as he screamed out in pain, falling to his knees.

"AHHHHHHH!"

The Berotha saw this as an opportunity and drove his daggers into Ichigata's chest, causing him to cough up blood in response.

"Sorry, Old Man. But it looks like you've reached the end of your limit."

He removed his daggers before kicking Ichigata's lifeless body to the side. He then turned his attention towards Aruto, sharpening his blades with murderous intent.

"Now then…Where were we?"

Elsewhere in space, the central core of a giant circular satellite glowed a bright blue as it came to life.

"Orders received. Activating 'Zero-One Protocol.'”

It then shot down a capsule towards Earth, landing where Aruto was just standing.

“What is this? Some kind of device?”

He noticed that the device had a handprint scanner on it. He nervously placed his hand on the scanner as it started to scan his hand.

“Scanning…Scanning…Identity Confirmed. Takasaki Aruto. Unlocking…”

The device opened itself up to revealing a driver in the middle. It was black with green accents on the side, a silver plate in the middle and a red arrow pointing right. There was a green keycard beside it with an image of a grasshopper on it. He grabbed the belt and looked at it for a sec.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Please put the belt on your waist.”

“Wait, what?”

“Please put the belt on your waist.”

“EHHHHHHH?”

Aruto was taken aback as the key started to talk to him, lighting up with each word.

“Master Aruto. Please put the belt on your waist.”

“Master Aruto? Okay.”

He placed the Driver on his waist as he felt his consciousness suddenly get pulled from his body as he found himself in a digital kind of space.

“Where are we?”

“My name is Izu. This is the Satellite Zea. Your mind is currently linked to this satellite wirelessly through the Hiden Zero-One Driver.”

“So that means?”

“You’re currently in a state where your mind can work as fast as an A.I.’s.”

Izu then projected a display detailing a prediction of Aruto’s situation back on Earth. In it, it showed the Magia firing several more energy waves at Aruto’s lifeless body.

“If you don’t act soon, you will die in the next five seconds.”

“WAIT, WHAT?”

Izu then brought out the user manual.

“You will have to learn the manual in that time.”

Aruto walked towards the manual.

“So this manual will teach me how to use this Zero-One Driver?”

“That is correct. You currently have 4.9022 seconds left.”

He then touched the manual as information started to flooding this brain.

“Commencing Tutorial Mode.”

After learning the manual, his consciousness returned to his body, still linked to the satellite.

“Learning Complete.”

The Magia fired off his energy waves as predicted as Aruto activated his Progrise Key and scanned on his Driver.

“ _JUMP!_ ”

“ _AUTHORISED!_ ”

Zea beamed down a Giant Green Hopper to Aruto’s location. Intercepting the energy blasts as it hopping around Aruto, making craters in the ground with each jump. He then flipped the key open and inserted it into the slot on the Driver's side as the middle part shifted to the side, revealing a circular display with a green outline featuring the grasshopper in the middle.

“Transform!”

“ _PROGRISE”_

The grasshopper then jumped towards Aruto breaking into several pieces, which then transformed into armour parts that attached themselves to his black undersuit.

“ _JUMP UP AND RISE!_ ”

“ _RISING HOPPER!_ ”

“ _A Jump To The Sky Turns Into a Rider Kick._ ”

Aruto, now transformed into a Kamen Rider, stood before the Magia.

“It can’t be-? You’re also a Kamen Rider?”

“That’s Right! My name is Kamen Rider Zero-One!”

He charged towards the Magia with renewed vigour, landing several punches before kicking him away. He continued his assault on the Magia, parrying and dodging every attack. The Magia tried to slash at his legs. However, he just jumped over them…and onto a nearby rooftop.

“EHHHH?”

He looked at where he landed in a mixture of awe and shock as he patted his legs.

“Wow, these legs really pack a kick, don’t they?”

The Magia fired energy beams from his eyes. Aruto responded by jumping towards the Magia and blocking the rays with his hands, ending it with a supercharged punch to the face as the Magia stumbled back.

“If I remember correctly, there should be something like…”

Zea then beamed down a briefcase-like object towards Aruto, landing squarly on his head as he stumbled back.

“Ow, ow ow. Yeah, something like that.”

He grabbed the briefcase and opened it, revealing the bladed edge inside.

“ _BLADERISE!_ ”

He then charged at the Magia, slashing at him rapidly as they clashed blades repeatedly. The Magia was eventually pushed back, getting angrier and angrier. It picked up a nearby car and threw it at Aruto. Aruto responded by closing the briefcase, letting it charge up with power.

“ _CHARGE RISE!”_

He then jumped onto the flying vehicle and ran across it, using it as a launching pad before unsheathing the blade at letting it tear through the Magia, sending it flying back.

“ _FULL CHARGE_ ”

_“DISPATCH SLASH!”_

“Alright, let’s finish this!”

Aruto pressed the key one more time as he activated his finisher.

“ _RISING IMPACT!”_

He dashed towards the Magia, launching him into the air with a kick before chasing after him. He landed another kick smashing him back to the ground before unleashing another kick that tore through the Magia leave a gaping hole.

“ _RISING IMPACT!”_

“FOR THE GLORY OF SHOCKER!”

The Magia screamed out before exploding into bits. Aruto landed on the ground, skidding across it before twisting his ankle, sending him tumbling into a wall.

“Master Aruto! Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m okay. The only thing hurt is my pride.”

As he pushed the debris off of him, the sounds of helicopters filled the sky as several carriers descended from the sky. Paramedics rushed out from the carriers as they checked Ichigata’s body and propped him up onto a stretcher wheeling him into the aircraft.

“Check his vital signs!”

“He needs immediate medical attention!”

“Get him to the aircraft!”

A man in a suit then exited one of the aircraft and walked towards Aruto.

“Aruto Takasaki, is it? My name is Isamu Fuwa. Could I ask you to come with me for a second?”

Elsewhere, inside the Shocker Fortress, one of the Shocker Combatants gave the broken Berotha Key to their Leader.

“Zero-One, huh?”

“Do you need us to step in?”

A man wearing a black jacket with a chocker and a bandana over his head stepped into the room. His voice sounding monotonous and serious.

“That wouldn’t be necessary. They’re a minor inconvenience for now. We shall continue our plan as usual.”

“Whatever you say, Great Leader.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading the second chapter of this story. I had a bit of troubling translating the fights scenes into words since they contain a lot of action and visual elements but I think I got the hang of it now. I decided to not give Izu a body in this universe as I felt like it didn't have a place in this story since it's thematically different from the original series. Izu is a fantastic character in the original story and I plan to keep her mostly the same as her original counterpart in terms of personality. I hope you continue to read this story from now on.
> 
> -GMMX


	3. Speeding Bullet: Vulcan

As the carriers descended onto the rooftop of Hiden Intelligence, Fuwa led Aruto towards the elevator.

“Why are we in my Father’s building?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

As they entered the Elevator, Fuwa took out a clear Progrise Key and scanned it on the elevator.

“Progrise Key Authorised. Decensending to A.I.M.S H.Q.”

Once the elevator reached its destination, the doors opened up to reveal dozens of monitors and computers lined up neatly in columns. It looked like the inside of N.A.S.A. or a top-secret military base.

“This is the headquarters of A.I.M.S. Artificial Intelligence Military Service, we’re tasked with dealing the threat Shocker and anyone else that misuses the power of artificial intelligence to threaten humanity.”

“Amazing. Would you say this place was Hiden in plain sight? And that your AIMS are to defeat Shocker and anyone else that might misuse the power of A.I? That’s how you know it’s Aruto!”

Aruto struck a pose as Fuwa spit out the coffee he was drinking.

“Wait, are you okay?”

“I’m okay. I’m okay. ANYWAY, let me introduce you to some people you’ll be working with.”

Desperate to save face, Fuwa hurridly directed Aruto into the main office where Will and a woman discussed some stuff.

“Ah, Aruto, you’re finally here. I assume you recognize me?”

“Mr. Will? What are you doing here?”

“I run this place. I was the one who gave your Father the Cyclone Riser in the first place, given that your Grandfather about your Father, he’s okay. He’s currently recovering in the hospital right now. You can go visit him tomorrow with your sister. I look forward to working with you.”

“Wait. You gave my Father the Cyclone Riser? But why?”

“I guess he never told you about this but, your Grandfather is Takasaki Takeshi. Kamen Rider Ichigo. I gave him the Cyclone Riser in hopes that he would be able to rise up against Shocker in your Grandfather’s place when the time came.”

“WHAT? THE LEGENDARY HERO THAT TOOK DOWN SHOCKER IS MY GRANDFATHER?”

“I understand your shock at this revelation. Trust me, you will be told everything in due time. For now, I should introduce the people you will be working with.”

He then gestured towards the women.

“This is Yaiba Yua. Our technical advisor. She will in charge of maintaining your equipment as well as providing new tools to assist you.”

“Pleasure to meet you,”

He gestured towards Fuwa

“You’ve already met Fuwa. He’s our Squad Captain. He will be your supervisor and handler throughout this endeavour. I hope you will get along with both of them.”

After Will finished introductions, Aruto’s phone started to ring. It was Yu.

“If it’s okay, can I take my leave now? My sister is calling me, and it’s way past the time. I should be at home.”

“That’s okay. We’ll call you if anything comes up.”

Aruto took the elevator back up and answered the phone.

“Hi, Yu, it’s me, Aruto.”

“OH MY GOD! ARE YOU OKAY? I heard what happened on the news.”

“Oh yeah…about that. We need to talk. Can I come into your room when I come back?”

“Okay.”

Aruto knocked on Yu’s door after arriving home, which she then opened and let him come in.

“Okay. What did you want to talk about?”

“Um, okay. You might want to sit down for this.”

Yu sat down on her bed as Aruto took a deep breath and proceeded to tell her everything that has happened that afternoon. After finishing, Yu took a deep breath and paused for a moment to process all this new information.

“Okay. This is a lot to take in.”

“Take your time. We can go visit Dad tomorrow.”

“Okay. Well, I guess you finally found your ‘thing’ now.”

“Haha, probably.”

“Was that all you wanted to say?”

“Yeah. I’ll take my leave now. What time do you want to meet?”

“How about noon?”

“Sure.”

Aruto packed up his stuff and left the room as Yu flopped onto her bed.

The next day, Aruto and Yu met and then proceeded to walk towards the hospital together.

“Did you tell Ayumu about this?”

“I just told her we’re gonna see our Father in the hospital. She has other plans today anyway.”

“That’s good.”

They reached the hospital and checked in with the receptionist. They walked towards their Dad’s room and opened the door. Soreo was in a hospital gown, his leg attached to a sling and his mouth attached to a non-rebreather mask.

“Hi, Dad. We came to visit you.”

“We brought some gifts for you on our way here.”

Yu set a shopping bag near Soreo’s bed as the two of them sat down beside him.

“So, how are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling a bit better. That monster got me good, though. I probably won’t be out for another few weeks.”

“Well, at least you’re alive. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The three talked for a while about school and how living on their own has been. Soreo then asked Yu to leave the room.

“Yu, could you leave the room for a bit? I need to talk to Aruto about something in private.”

“Okay. Just call me if you need me.”

As Yu left the room, Soreo turned towards Aruto.

“I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. I tried to shield you from the truth, so you wouldn’t get caught up in this, but I guess this was inevitable.”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything.”

“Anyway, did you tell Yu about this yet?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Then I guess I should call her back and tell her everything as well.”

Soreo asked Aruto to go and fetch Yu. He then proceeded to tell them both of the plans that he and Will made 10 years ago.

“The Zero-One driver was created by me as a failsafe in case I couldn’t transform anymore. I guess deep down, I knew that this was inevitable, so I made plans for Aruto or Yu to eventually take up the mantle of Kamen Rider. Izu is an artificial intelligence created by Will and me. She will be your guide from now on.”

Soreo then gives Yu a small earpiece.

“Here. This was originally designed for Aruto if he couldn’t transform into Zero-One at that time, but still needed access to Zea. Since you’re involved now, I think you should use it.”

“But what about the guys at A.I.M.S?”

“I’ll inform Will after you guys leave. I’m sure he’ll have no problems with this.”

Yu took the earpiece and attached it to her ear. She then pressed a button on it to activate it.

“Initiating connection to Zea.”

Yu felt her consciousness get pulled from her body as her mind linked up with Zea.

“Whoa. This is amazing, so much information all at once. It feels like my mind is going at super speeds.”

“Zea is connected to every single database in the world. Whatever you need, Zea will probably have it.”

Izu chimed in as Yu played around with the settings. Aruto’s phone then rang, it was Will.

“Hello? Aruto? We’ve got a Magia problem.”

“Magia?”

“Yeah. The monsters you fought. We’ve classified them as Shocker Magia. Anyway, there are reports of two Magias currently rampaging around. Fuwa and Yua are en route to intercept the first one. You’ll take on the second one.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The Magia is currently on the move. It’s located near the docks.”

Yu interjected with the information she acquired through Zea as Soreo laid back on his bed.

“I think you three will make a great team. Now get going!”

Meanwhile, where Fuwa and Yua were.

“FIRE!”

Fuwa shouted his command as a small team of soldiers opened fire at the incoming Magia. Its red armour sparking as each bullet collided with its body.

“Squadron B. Search for any remaining civilians and get them outta here. Squadron A. Focus fire on the Magia.”

As the Magia continued to get pushed back, several white and silver Magia stumbled onto the battlefield, their facial details resembling a grey Trilobite.

“M-M-M-Must exterminate humanity.”

They then proceeded to fire their rifles towards the squad, who quickly took cover.

Back where Aruto was, he ran towards the docks only to find a hooded man sitting on one of the containers admiring his pistol.

“Who are you?”

“Me?”

The man laughed as he pocketed his pistol.

“I guess you could say. I’m a pioneer of a new world.”

“Pioneer? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Heh heh. Get them Ekal.”

An orange Magia resembling a humanoid Ekaltadeta stepped out from one of the containers and raised its claws before charging at Aruto.

“FOR THE GLORY OF…”

“SHOCKER!”

The red Magia took out two swords from its shoulders and threw them at Yaiba, who narrowly dodged each of them before firing at it with her pistol. The blades boomeranged back to the Magia as he prepared to throw them again at Yua. Before he could throw them, he was interrupted by a shot from Fuwa.

“I’ll scrap each and every one of you if I have to.”

In his hands was a blue and grey pistol with a slot for inserting keys. He was also holding a belt that functions as a holder for the gun.

“The others are busy fighting the Trilobite Magias. I’ll take over from here and kick this Red Magia’s ass.”

“I have a name, you know! It’s Kuehne!”

“Like I care!”

He wrapped the belt around himself, placed the gun on it and took out a blue Progrise key with a wolf image.

“Wait, stop! You’re not qualified to use the Shotriser yet!”

“Shut up! I said I’ll take over from here, and I make my own rules.”

He grabbed the key with both his hands and pried it open with all of his might.

“AHHHHH!!!!!”

“What?”

Yua stared in shock a Fuwa activated his key.

“ _BULLET!_ ”

He inserted the key into the Shotriser and aimed it at the Magia before firing off a blast towards the Magia.

“ _Authorised!_ ”

“ _Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider._ ”

“ _SHOTRISE!_ ”

The bullet hit the Magia before boomeranging back to Fuwa as he punched it, making it break apart into several armour pieces that attached themselves to Fuwa. White and blue armour formed around him as they attached themselves to him, giving him a wolf-like motif.

“ _SHOOTING WOLF!_ ”

“ _The elevation increases at the bullet is fired_.”

Fuwa rushed towards the Magia engaged it in combat as Yua took out a recording device.

“Damn it, Fuwa. Well, might as well get some useful data out of this.”

Back where Aruto was, already transformed as Zero-One was engaged with the Elka Magia, locking his blades with the Magia’s fangs. Pushing the Magia back with a kick, the Magia got on its feet and roared at Aruto.

“I’ll make mincemeat outta you!”

“Well then, let’s cut to the chase now.”

He inserted his Hopper key into the blade and activated the finisher.

“ _Progrise Key confirmed. Ready to utilize grasshopper’s ability._ ”

“ _RISING DISPATCH SLASH!_ ”

He unleashed the glowing blade at the Magia, effortlessly slicing through its fangs and cleaving through its body with ease as the Magia exploded into bits.

“ _RISING DISPATCH SLASH!_ ”

Back where Fuwa was, he continued firing at the Kuehne Magia with his Shotriser as they moved over to the docks. The Magia decided to knock down a container and launch at Fuwa, who slid under it, firing off even more shots at the Magia, briefly making it stumble back. The Magia retaliated by slashing at him with his swords, launching him backwards.

“Hmph. Not bad for a pile of scrap.”

“RAAAHHHHHH!”

He manifested a giant wolf claw and brought it down as the Magia charged at him, launching it to nearby containers, knocking them over.

“Let’s finish this!”

He pressed his key again and took aim as his finisher activated.

“ _BULLET!_ ”

He fired off four wolf-like bullets that sought out the Magia and pinned him to one of the containers before letting his Shotriser charge up with power and unleashing a giant blast towards the Magia.

“ _SHOOTING BLAST!_ ”

The Magia was sent flying through several containers before the blast exploded, tearing the Magia into bits.

“ _SHOOTING BLAST!_ ”

Aruto saw one of the containers melt and quickly ducked in response to the energy blast almost hitting him. When he got up, he saw a Fuwa standing opposite him as Fuwa put his Shotriser away.

“You’re not the only one who can transform Aruto.”

“Fuwa?”

Before Fuwa could respond, they could hear the sounds of clapping nearby.

“Wow, amazing. You took down those two like they were nothing—no wonder the Government trusts you guys so much.”

It was the hooded man as his face grew serious.

“No matter. This won’t impede our plans at all.”

“Who are you?!”

“Me? Heh, I guess you’ve earned the right to know. My name is Jin, Jin of Metsubojinrai.net.”

“Metsubojinrai.net?”

“Bye Bye.”

The hooded man walked off and disappeared in the smoke before the two of them could react.

The next day the Government held a press conference to address the recent events.

“Regarding the events of these past few days, I would like to put a few rumours to rest—first, the monster attacks. After much investigation, we have discovered the culprit of these attacks. They are from an enemy we long thought gone. It is undoubtedly the work of Shocker!”

The crowd gasp as gossip start to spread amongst the reporters.

“Furthermore, we can safely assume that Shocker was also behind the kidnappings 10 years ago. For what reason, we do not know, but we will launch a full-scale investigation regarding the matter immediately.”

The Government then flashed a video on the screen showing Jim.

“We have also received information that a terrorist group known as Metsubojinrai.net are related to these attacks. They are considered armed and extremely dangerous. Extreme caution is advised should you ever encounter their members.”

He slammed his hands on his desk.

“But be assured. We have contingency plans in place for this kind of thing.”

He flashed another video showcasing Aruto and Fuwa’s fight the other day.

“We have deployed our very own Kamen Riders to combat this threat. Their names are Kamen Rider Zero-One and Kamen Rider Vulcan. They will be working as a part of A.I.M.S from now on. Please put your faith in them.”

The Government and his officials bowed towards the crowd as discussed some more. Things will only get harder from here on out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello it's GMMX again.  
> Thank you for reading Chapter 3. This chapter is longer than I expected due to the amount of things I wanted to established. I hope I established everything clearly. Also we finally got our first look our main villain for this arc, Metsubojinrai.net, I hope you enjoy what they bring this arc as villains. The other members of this group will be making their appearances soon so I hope you look forward to that. It was a bit hard juggling two fights at once since the Zero-one and Vulcan fight happen simultaneously but I think I managed. I hope you look forward to future chapters.
> 
> -GMMX


	4. Working Hard Everyday

"Arrghhh."

"I'll squeeze you outta that suit Zero-One!"

Aruto was currently in the middle of fighting the Neohi Magia, who had entangled him with his tentacles as he struggled to break free.

"Master Aruto. I'm detecting large amounts of voltage coming from the tentacles. I would advise you to free yourself as soon as possible."

As soon as Izu informed him, a large amount of electricity surged from the tentacles, shocking Aruto.

"AHHHH!!! Yeah, I just noticed, thanks."

Suddenly the Magia was staggered as a flurry of bullet impacted its body.

"What the hell are you doing, you idiothopper?"

Fuwa charged at the Magia, engaging in it in close quarters combat as Yua helped Aruto get to his feet.

"Dammit, Fuwa. I see you've run off again without my permission."

"Shut it, Yua. The Magia's mine."

Not wanting to fight a two on one battle, the Magia extended his tentacles, stabbing Fuwa repeatedly before unleashing an ink-like smoke screen, escaping.

"Dammit. Slippery bastard."

Fuwa clicked his tongue as the Magia escaped.

"Oh, you gotta be squidding me."

A small crowd had gathered where the fight had been, with people rapidly taking photos of the Riders.

"Seems like we're now in the focus of the public eye after that announcement. This is gonna make this harder."

Yua noted the crowd size as the crowd continued to grow in size.

"Umm. Are you Kamen Rider Zero-One?"

One of the civilians approached Aruto as he turned towards him.

"Yes. How can I help you?"

"You don't happen to be related to Kamen Rider Ichigo, right?"

"Eh?"

"I mean, your design is similar to his, so I was wondering if you were his replacement with Vulcan as your sidekick or something."

"SIDEKICK? I'LL TEACH YOU WHOSE A SIDEKICK!"

"Calm down, Fuwa!"

Yu restrained Fuwa as he struggled to break free as Aruto stood there at a loss for words.

"Master Aruto, it is currently almost time for your meet up with Mistress Yu. You should hurry."

"Ah. HEY, LOOK OVER THERE!"

Aruto pointed towards a random direction, attempting to distract the civilian before leaping away.

"And that's basically what happened."

Aruto was walking alongside Yu, heading towards her clubroom, having just finished telling her about what had just transpired.

"On one hand, I'm happy that I'm being compared to Ichigo. On the other hand, it's kinda annoying that they only see me as a 'replacement' instead of my own person."

"I see. Well, it can't be helped. You've only just started. Give it time."

"It's still annoying, nonetheless. Anyway, could you come up with some countermeasures for my next fight?"

"I’ll see what I can do.”

They arrived at the clubroom as Yu opened the door and greeted everyone.

“Hello, everyone. I have some important news to share.”

She gestured towards Aruto.

“This is Takasaki Aruto. My twin brother will be joining us from now as a second pair of hands for us. I hope everyone treats him well.”

“Why the sudden interest in School Idols? You used to brush off any remarks about them.”

Ayumu attempted to probe Aruto for information as Aruto waved his hand.

“Heh heh heh. It must be because he found about Kasumi’s cuteness and wanted to take a closer look at her, using Yu as a means to infiltrate the club.”

Kasumi mischievously chuckled as she got lost in her own thoughts.

“I only recently got interested in what my sister was doing and decided to join her club for a bit so I could get a better look at how she spends her time. Anyway, I look forward to working with you girls. I’m sure we’ll get along fangtastically. That’s how you know it’s Aruto!”

Aruto pointed at his teeth as he finished the pun before striking his signature pose, causing Yu and a blonde-haired girl to burst out in laughter.

“Oh man, that was good. I’m Miyashita Ai. Ai am one of the School Aidols here. You know, cause my name is Ai.”

The other girls then took turns, introducing themselves.

“My name is Osaka Shizuku," said the girl with brown hair. "Pleased to meet you.”

She took a bow as she finished her introduction. The blue-haired girl at her side stepped up and introduced herself.

“My name is Asaka Karin.”

Another brown hair girl, who was currently snacking on some bread, waved and introduced herself.

“My name is Emma Verde. I hope we can get along.”

Kasumi spun around and adopted a cute pose as she introduced herself to Aruto.

“My name is Nakasu Kasumi. I’m counting on your support, A~ru~to.”

A black-haired girl walked up to Aruto and introduced herself.

“My name is Yuki Setsuna.”

A pink-haired girl shuffled towards Aruto and introduced herself.

“I’m…Tennoji Rina. Nice to meet you. Rina-chan Board Smiley Face.”

She held up a notebook to her face. The notebook had her face smiling drawn on it.

“What?”

“Ah, that’s the Rina-chan Board. She has trouble expressing herself, so she uses her board to express whatever emotion she’s currently feeling.”

Yu explained to Aruto about the board Rina used and then gestured towards a brown-haired girl sleeping on the couch.

“That’s Konoe Kanata. She likes to sleep a lot, so you’ll usually find her there. Anyway, I’ll assign you to one girl, for now, so you slowly get used to this club. You can start with Ayumu since you two are familiar with each other.”

She then leaned in close.

“Just remember what we agreed about.”

“Absolutely.”

Aruto discretely handed his Rising Hopper key to Yu as they left the clubroom to start their club activities.

*The Night Before*

“Since you’re helping me with my Rider duties now, I think it’s only fair I help you out in some way.”

“You don’t need to. I’m perfectly happy helping you like this.”

“No, it wouldn’t feel right. Hmmm.”

Aruto was in Yu’s room as they discussed what their plans were moving forward.

“Well, if you insist. You could start helping out in the club as a second pair of hands. That way, it’s a give and take relationship.”

“Sounds good. We can start tomorrow.”

“I’ll give you my notes for now. Make sure to review them before you come in tomorrow.”

*Present*

Aruto and Yu observed the girls as they did their daily jogging routine.

“So I went over your notes a bit last night. They’re really detailed. You really put a lot of effort into this club.”

“Yeah. Every day, I’m thinking about how I can help the girls improve and what they need to work on and then write them down in my diary. Every girl has something different they need to work on, so I need to tailor-make different training routines for them.”

“Is that so? Well, I’ll try my best to not be a burden to you.”

After the next few days, Aruto started to closely observe Ayumu with everything she does, from her jogging and dance routines to eating habits.

“Ummm, do you really have to follow me everywhere?”

Ayumu nervously laughed as she questioned Aruto’s recent behaviour.

“Well, to get a better idea of how to help you, I should familiarise myself with your habits and daily routine. Yu’s notes have been really helpful, but I want to see for myself what Yu sees.”

“I see. Well then, I’ll try not to disappoint you then.”

Back where Yu was, she entered the science room and sat down on a computer. She then hooked up a device to the computer. It was a device with slots for inserting the Progrise Keys. She inserted the Rising Hopper key into it and put it on her earpiece.

“Hey Izu, can you hear me?”

“Yes, Mistress Yu. How can I be of assistance?”

“Before we get started, could you give me a rundown of what Satellite Zea is and what the Progrise Keys are?”

“Certainly. Satellite Zea is an autonomous satellite whose primary function is to relay information throughout Hiden Intelligence’s devices. As you are now aware, it also functions as a hangar for all of Zero-One’s equipment. While also enabling Zero-One to accelerate his thought process to that of an A.I. The Progrise Keys are devices that allow Zero-One and the others to assume animal-based forms that enhance their combat prowess.”

“So theoretically, we can create new keys using Zea?”

“Yes.”

“Alright then, uploading results of the analysis of Aruto’s previous battles. Let’s see if we can find any countermeasures.”

“Message Received. Construction commencing.”

Zea acknowledged the order as it connected to the 3D printer in the room and began constructing a new key. The key was aqua blue and had an image of a shark on it.

“Printing Complete.”

Zea announced the key's completion as Yu opened the door to the printer and took out the newly created key.

“This is the Biting Shark Key, Mistress Yu.”

“Okay, let’s get this delivered to Aruto then.”

*Later that evening*

“One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.”

“You’re still here practicing?”

Aruto entered the dance room where Ayumu was still there practicing her dance routine. She’s been at it for a while as her clothes were covered in sweat.

“Yeah. I don’t have any special talents like the others, so I have to work extra hard if I want to keep up with them, although it makes it hard for me to know when to stop practicing.”

“Judging from your tone, I assume you do this often? It’s not good to overwork yourself like this.”

“Yes, but there’s so much I need to work on. My footwork is still sloppy, and I need to work on my stamina.”

“If you say so. But you should take a small break first. Here, I got you some water.”

Ayumu sat down beside him as he handed her the water.

“So, how do lives usually go for you guys? Being solo idols and all.”

“At first, we had trouble dealing with how we were gonna manage standing on the stage by ourselves. If we had stood as a group, we could help and support each other, but we were too different from each other.”

“And then?”

“We found out that we’re not actually completely alone on the stage. Everyone’s wishes and support are still there with us. It’s like they’re all on stage with me, but not really, if that makes any sense. It’s our duty to put on the best show and show off our individual appeals to the best we can, for the sake of everyone watching and our fans.”

“Hmmm.”

“Anyway, I’m gonna practice a bit more now.”

“Sure.”

“I thought I would find you two here.”

Yu entered the room shortly after and greeted them.

“So, how have you two been getting along?”

“We’ve been getting along just fine. I’ve learned a lot about how much effort goes into each performance. I’ve also learned about how much you guys care and cherish this club.”

“That’s good. Anyway, I need to talk with you for a bit outside concerning your little ‘request.’”

Aruto followed Yu outside as she handed him the Biting Shark key.

“It’s done.”

“Thanks, Yu,”

“I’m currently tracking down the Magia’s position. If anything comes up, I’ll tell you,”

“What about your club duties?”

“Everybody went home already. It’s only us three that are left. I can go home with you guys if you want.”

“Sure. I’ll ask Ayumu how much longer she plans to practice for.”

“Sounds good.”

After Ayumu finished practicing, the three cleaned up and started to walk home together.

“It’s been a while since we last did this. It feels nice.”

“Well, we’re gonna be doing this a lot more, now that you’re part of the club.”

“Oh yeah. Yu, what’s that earpiece you have on you?”

Ayumu pointed at Yu’s earpiece.

“Ah, this? This is a gift from my Father. He said that this will help me in my club activities since it allows me to do multiple things at once and lets me compose songs at a much faster rate.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“Master Aruto, Mistress Yu. I’m detecting several energy signatures moving towards your location. Advise Caution.”

“Wait. Where?”

“20 meters…15 meters…10 meters.”

Several Trilobite Magias surrounded the three in the middle of their way home.

“E-E-E-Exterminate!”

“Ayumu, this way!”

Yu grabbed Ayumu’s hand as all three of them escaped from the oncoming Magia. As they ran, more and more of them appeared until themselves with nowhere else to run.

“We’re outta options.”

Aruto reached into his bag, ready to bring out his driver, before several shots flew through the air hitting the Magias.

“Are you okay?”

It was Yua, as she continued laying down fire on the Magias.

“You three get out of here. I’ll handle the rest.”

She then brought out her own Shotriser and wrapped it around her waist. She then brought out an orange key with a cheetah image and spun it in her hands before activating it.

“ _DASH!_ ”

She inserted the key into the Riser and flipped it open.

“ _Authorised._ ”

“ _Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider._ ”

“Transform!”

She fired the Riser as the bullet circled around her before breaking apart and forming white and orange armour around her giving her a cheetah motif.

“ _Shotrise!_ ”

“ _Rushing Cheetah._ ”

“ _Try to outrun this demon to get left in the dust._ ”

“This is Kamen Rider Valkyrie. Magia in violation of the law verified. Proceeding with target elimination.”

She dashed towards the target at superspeed, engaging them in combat, performing a combination of kicks and close-range shots as Aruto and the others escaped from the situation.

“Master Aruto. I’m detecting one large energy signature coming your way. It’s the Neohi Magia.”

“WHAT?”

White Tentacles suddenly flew out from the corner as Aruto narrowly avoided getting skewered. The Magia stepped out from the corner, waving his tentacles around.

“Ah…That was so close too. A second early, and you would’ve been skewered like a kebab.”

Aruto frantically looked around for Fuwa to show up, but nothing.

“If you’re looking for that blue armoured idiot. I’ve already sicced some grunts on him. He won’t be coming to your rescue anytime soon. HAHAHAHAHA!”

Aruto made a dive for his bag and brought out his driver.

“Master Aruto, you mustn’t! You have to protect your secret identity!”

“It’s either that, or we die!”

He placed it on his waist, activated his key and scanned on the driver.

“ _JUMP!_ ”

“ _Authorised._ ”

“Impossible! You’re-”

“Transform!”

Slotted in the key into the driver as the Zero-One armour formed around him.

“ _Progrise!_ _Rising Hopper!_ ”

“ _A jump to the sky turns to a Rider Kick._ ”

He flipped open his blade and start slashing away at the Magia.

“ _Blade Rise!_ ”

Back where Yua was, she performed a series of punches and kicks, knocking the Magias back. She performed a scissor kick on one of them, swinging herself around, kicking another Magia in the chest before launching the other into a pile of crates with a supercharged kick. In response, the Magia open fired at her, leading to her taking cover behind a box. She kicked the box towards the Magia and dashed behind it, using it as cover from the incoming fire before returning fire on the Magia as she lep across.

In Aruto’s case, the Magia had already entangled him with its tentacles, ready to electrocute him again.

“I’ll gonna fry you like a squid and have you for dinner!”

“Let’s see you chew on this then!”

He brought out the newly created key and activated it as he struggled to scan it on the driver.

“ _FANG!_ ”

“ _Authorised.”_

Zea beamed down a giant model of a shark that tore through the tentacles and launched the Magia backwards. Aruto removed the Hopper key and inserted the Shark key in its place.

“Alright, let’s take this for a swim.”

“ _Progrise!’_

“ _Roundabout Chomp! Biting Shark!_ ”

The green armour rearranged itself to make room as the Shark broke itself apart and attached itself to the newly created space.

“ _Fang that can chomp through concrete!_ ”

He brought his fins together as they glowed with energy before launching them like boomerangs at the Magia, slicing it repeatedly. He attempted to blind Aruto by making a smokescreen.

“HA! You won’t be able to slice my tentacles if you can’t see me.”

“Is that so?”

Aruto concentrated before launching his fins towards the Magia before clearing the smoke.

“Impossible! How did you figure out where I was?”

“You didn’t know? Sharks can detect even the smallest amount of electricity in the surrounding area. Now then, let’s finish this.”

He pressed in the key again and activated his finisher as the Magia extended his tentacles.

“ _BITING IMPACT!_ ”

He dashed forward, effortlessly slicing through all of its tentacles before manifesting a giant pair of fangs on his legs before kicking the Magia, causing the fangs to close and chew through the Magia.

“ _BITING IMPACT!_ ”

Yua was also about done on her side as well as she knocked the Magias into one place. Fuwa arrived on the scene shortly, contending with his own group of Magia as Yua activated her finisher.

“Wait, that person.”

“ _DASH!_ _RUSHING BLAST!_ ”

She dashed forward at superspeed and shot at the center of the Magias, repeatedly shooting at the same location as she circled around them, creating a giant energy ball. She then skidded to a halt as the energy ball exploded behind her, destroy the Magias trapped inside.

“ _DASH RUSHING BLAST!_ ”

She looked at Fuwa as she cancelled her transformation.

“And that’s how you get things done.”

Fuwa cancelled his own transformation as he followed after Yua.

“Hey! You should’ve told me there were two of these!”

Meanwhile, Jin appeared where the Magia's wreckage was as he picked up the Neohi key that was left behind.

“Ahhhh. Another failure, I guess. Well, whatever.”

Aruto met up with Yu and Ayumu after cancelling his transformation.

“So, shall we head home now?”

“Wait, wait, wait. You can’t just act like everything is normal after the stunt you just pulled.”

Ayumu was obviously flustered at the situation as she demanded an explanation.

“Ah, right. I guess we owe you an explanation.”

Aruto and Yu then proceeded to tell Ayumu about his current situation as Zero-One.

“And that’s everything you need to know. There’s a bit more stuff going on, but it’s classified. All you need to know is that Aruto is Zero-One, and the reason he joined our club is to help me with my club duties while I support him in his rider duties.”

“Okay. This is a lot to take in at once.”

“Also, try not to tell anyone else about this. It’s still top secret information.”

“Okay.”

The three then proceeded to continue walking home together as the sunset behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading Chapter 4. I'm so sorry for the late upload compared to the previous chapters, I had massive writers block since I was struggling to integrate Aruto into the Niji group and how them interact naturally without it seeming forced. I also have started class with Uni so I'll be more busy with my school work so my upload schedule may be a bit wack from now on. One new addition is that I send drafts to my editing team before I post these chapters to scan for any content or grammatical errors so if this chapter seemed more polished you can thank them. I'm also experimenting with different chapter names and seeing which one I like, let me know which ones you like. I hope you guys understand and bear with me. Look forward to the next chapters.
> 
> \- GMMX


	5. The Hot Blooded Wolf and The Emotionless Girl

"Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah."

A man in a lab coat frantically looked around as he ran through a tight alleyway. His clothes were slightly tattered and torn. He hid in a corner as a shadowy figure flew over him before proceeding to move again.

Meanwhile, Aruto was hanging out with the club members again. He was slowly getting used to being around them.

"You know when Yu is practicing for the musical exam to change courses. She would be practicing from day to night every single day. Normally I would be praising her dedication and hard work, but it was the same song every day. It got real repetitive fast, and it wasn't even a full song. It was just parts of it at seemingly random points in the day."

"You say that, but when I passed the exam, you were the most excited and happy about it, even more so than Ayumu or anyone else."

Yu smugly replied to Aruto's attempts to get at her.

"Geh! W-W-Well, of course. I am your brother, after all."

"Guys, let's all get along, okay?"

Ayumu, on the other hand, was trying to defuse the situation before it escalated into a full-on argument between the two.

"Oh my. Your brother certainly has the mouth on him, doesn't he?"

Karin, clearly enjoying herself, teased the two.

Suddenly, a man dashed out from the alleyway and frantically looked around. He then spotted the group and stood there in shock.

"Rina?"

He then slowly walked towards the group.

"Rina? Is that you?"

"…Dad?"

Rina slowly turned around to face the man.

"Rina. Do you know this man?"

Ai questioned Rina about her relation to the man.

"Ah. Sorry, I'm Rina's Father…Wait, this isn't the time for introductions! You're all in-"

A voice then came from above him.

"You really thought you could escape, huh?"

A Magia resembling a bat was perched on the rooftop above him. It was the Onycho Magia.

"Oh no! He's found me!"

The Magia crashed down onto the table the group was sitting at, breaking it in half and scattering everybody. Amid the confusion, Aruto nodded to Yu as he brought out his driver before quickly hiding it behind him as the Magia was intercepted by a flurry of bullets launched by Fuwa and Yua.

"Magia target acquired. Proceeding with Elimination."

They brought out their keys and proceeded to transform.

" _BULLET!_ "

" _DASH!_ "

" _Authorised._ "

" _Kamen Rider."_

"Transform!"

" _Kamen Rider._ "

"Transform!"

" _Shotrise!_ "

" _SHOOTING WOLF! RUSHING CHEETAH!_ "

Yua dashed towards the Magia and launched it with a well-placed kick as Fuwa fired at Magia rapidly. Fuwa then ran towards the Magia as it fired needles at him from its body, which Fuwa powered through before tackling him. He then backed off and coordinated with Yua to fire off shots simultaneously at the Magia, knocking it down. The Magia scrambled to its feet and fired several fireballs towards the rooftop, causing debris to fall towards Rina.

"Oh, come on!"

Fuwa dived to save Rina as Yua destroyed the debris with a flurry of kicks, creating dust that filled the area. The Magia took the opportunity to swoop in and snatch the scientist before flying off.

"As much as I love to play with you all. I got what I came for. If you pathetic little worms want to see him alive again, then meet me at the abandoned laboratory at the edge of town. But don't take too long, or I might get hungry. AHAHAHHAHAHA!"

"He can fly?!"

He flew off into the distance as Fuwa and Yua tried to shoot him down. They cancelled their transformation as they turned towards the group.

"Are you okay?"

"Mmm. But they took my father away."

"That man that Magia was carrying, he was your father?"

Rina nodded, her face as stoic as ever. Fuwa looked away and silently clenched his fists in response. On the other hand, Setsuna had stars in her eyes as she stood there in awe of the two agents.

“This is amazing! I finally get to see two Kamen Riders in action!”

Later that day, Aruto arrived at the A.I.M.S H.Q and greeted everybody there.

"So, I assume you guys know what we're dealing with?"

"Yes. There's only one lab that Magia could be talking about, and it's this one."

Will brought up an image of the ruins of an old laboratory.

"This used to be a research lab. What they were researching was top secret. All we know is that a couple years ago, there was a mysterious explosion that levelled the entire lab leaving it in the state you see now. No one has gone near that place ever since then. And this…"

Will brought up a picture of Rina’s father.

“This is Professor Tennoji. He was a renowned scientist before mysteriously disappearing 10 years ago.”

He brought out a photo from his pocket. It was a picture of him, Soreo and Professor Tennoji in their University days.

“We used to go to the same University together. But that’s beside the point, that Magia was chasing him for some reason. It could be related to Shocker, I need you guys to find out.”

"It’s the perfect place for a scumbag like him to hide out in. If that’s all we need to know, then I’m shipping out.”

Fuwa commented as he cracked his knuckles.

“Fuwa, wait!”

Yua tried to stop him before he left, but he brushed her off and went inside the elevator.

“I should take my leave as well. I have to talk with my sister about this so we can come up with a plan together.”

“Okay, but don’t do anything reckless. And keep an eye out for Fuwa for me.”

Yua saw him off as he ran off back home to meet up with Yu.

“And that’s basically what happened.”

“So you’re going to go rescue Rina’s father?”

“That’s the plan. If Fuwa doesn’t go ahead and do it himself. Anyway, we’re gonna fight that winged Magia again, so I’m gonna need something to counter him.”

“I’ll see what I can do tomorrow at school.”

The next day, as the girls were practicing, Aruto and Yu observed them and took notes as usual.

“Let’s see here. Karin said she needed more dance practice, Kanata needs more stamina training. Ayumu wants to practice her singing more…”

Yu was scribbling away at breakneck speed as Aruto continued to observe the girls.

“Hey, Yu? Rina’s movements, do they seem off to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like her mind isn’t exactly here right now. I think yesterday’s events are still weighing on her mind.”

“Hmmm. Do you think we should take a break first?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Everybody! Let’s take a small break.”

Aruto clapped his hands together as the girls wiped the sweat from their foreheads.

“Hey, Rina. Is everything alright? You’ve kinda been spacing out today.”

Yu walked up to Rina and sat beside her.

“Sorry. I’ve just been thinking a lot about my father. He finally shows up after 10 years only to be taken away again. I want to do something to rescue him, but I don’t know what.”

She curled up as she finished her sentence.

“I know. I’m sure A.I.M.S will be able to find your father soon, but we’re here for you anytime.”

Yu wrapped her arms around her and hugged her close as she continued to comfort her. After a while, she released her grip as she stood up.

“Alright, I got something to do with Aruto now. It won’t take that long. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Okay.”

Ayumu waved at them as they exited the room and made their way to the laboratory.

“Izu, can you find out any countermeasures for aerial opponents?”

“Certainly, Mistress Yu. Sending data to Zea.”

“Orders received. Beginning Construction.”

As Zea began the construction of a new key, someone unexpectedly walked into the room.

“Hm. Well, now this is a surprise.”

“Karin?!”

Karin had just walked in at the worst moment. Now there was no hiding the fact that Aruto was Zero-One.

“W-W-What are you doing here, Karin?”

“I was going to buy drinks for everyone when I heard noises coming from the lab. No one usually uses the lab at this time of the day, so I thought it was a bit strange, so I decided to check it out myself. I never expected to see you two here.”

“Ah. Um. Er.”

Aruto was struggling to come up with an excuse for Karin while she continued.

“I always thought it was strange how your brother suddenly developed an interest in school idols and what you do seemingly outta nowhere. And that earpiece you’re currently wearing, it’s unlike anything I’ve seen before. Are you two working on a secret project?”

“Actually, you know what. Should we just tell her? I don’t want to keep lying like this.”

Aruto threw his hands up as he looked to Yu for approval.

“It’s up to you. I personally don’t mind. I trust Karin to keep this a secret.”

They nodded towards each other as Yu then proceeded to tell Karin everything necessary surrounding Aruto’s identity as Zero-One.

“I’m really sorry for not telling you guys earlier.”

Yu bowed in apology towards Karin.

“It’s fine. You had your reasons, although I’m not surprised. You two are the grandchildren of a legendary hero. So I guess you’re gonna go help Rina rescue her father?”

“Yeah. In fact…”

“Fabrication Complete.”

“I just finished putting together a new key.”

Yu opened the door to the printer and took out the newly created key. It was pink with an image of a falcon imprinted on it as Aruto grabbed his head.

“ARE WE THE ONLY ONES HERE THAT DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT OUR GRANDFATHER?”

“Well, in hindsight, we did share the same last name as him, so I guess it must’ve been pretty obvious. I guess we never brought it up. Anyway, here’s your new key.”

Yu handed the pink key over to Aruto as they exited the room.

“Oh, and don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone else about your little meetings unless you want me to.”

“Thanks, Karin.”

They bought drinks and returned to the clubroom where everybody was waiting.

“Where’s Rina?”

“She went home early. Ai offered to take her home, so I think they’ll be fine.”

“Okay. But I still don’t feel comfortable about this.”

Yu sat down and thought for a moment as Ayumu went over and comforted her.

“Rina’s a smart girl. I’m sure she wouldn’t do anything reckless like try to save her father on her own. Let’s put a little faith in her.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

Meanwhile, Rina and Ai were walking home together as they talked with each other.

“Hey, Rina. What kind of a person was your father?”

“He wasn’t around the house a lot due to always being busy with work, but he was a kind person. Even if he wasn’t there a lot of the time, he still cared a lot about me.”

“Hmm. He sounds like a good person.”

They then encountered Fuwa overlooking the city from the bridge.

“Um, you’re the person who saved us the other day, right?”

Rina walked up to him and attempted to converse with him.

“Hm? Oh, you’re that girl from the other day.”

Fuwa turned around and faced Rina. Ai’s phone then started to ring.

“Ah. My phone is ringing. Hello? Ah.”

Ai faced Rina and bowed.

“Sorry. My parents just called, they need some help over at the restaurant. I’m sorry to leave you like this.”

Ai ran off as Fuwa continued to talk.

“I assume you want to talk about your Father, right?”

Rina nodded.

“I want to save him, but I don’t know how to do that.”

“You want to save your father, huh?

Fuwa paused for a moment as he looked up.

“Well, so do I. Tell you what, we’ll do it together. Meet me here tomorrow, and we’ll go together to rescue your father.”

“Okay. Rina-chan board ‘Determined.’”

Fuwa smiled in response to Rina’s drawing as he walked her home. The next day, Fuwa and Rina packed their bags and set off together. They arrived at the city's outskirts before Yua walked in front of them, barring their entry.

“First, you run off without my permission. Now you’re bringing along a child to a potentially dangerous area?”

“Yua? How did you find us?”

“Your Shooting Wolf Key has a built-in tracker. I know where you are at all times. You still didn’t answer my question.”

“This isn’t just any kid. Her father was kidnapped by that Magia, a father she hasn’t seen in a very long time. She just wants to see her father again. I’ll take full responsibility if anything happens to her.”

“And I can’t stop you?”

Yua sighed as she walked towards Fuwa and gave him a grey Progrise Key with an image of a gorilla on it.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“This is the Punching Kong Key. I should warn you, though, it packs quite a punch, so you should be careful when using it.”

“Hmph, now you’re supporting me? I don’t get it.”

“Just remember what your job is, alright?”

“I’ll think about it.”

Yua stepped aside as Fuwa led Rina towards the lab. As they neared the entrance, a bunch of Trilobite Magia appeared from behind them, all of them brandishing knives.

“I-I-Intruder Alert. Exterminate. Exterminate”

“What the hell are these guys doing here?”

Fuwa readied his Shotriser and began firing away at the Magias. One of the Magias appeared behind Rina and approached her.

“Must Exterminate…”

Aruto suddenly dashed towards the Magia and shoved him outta the way, surprising both Rina and Fuwa.

“You! What are you doing here?”

“Aruto?”

Aruto brushed himself off before pulling out his driver and placing it on his waist.

“Master Aruto. You mustn’t! You have to protect your identity.”

“That belt…

Fuwa looked over at Aruto as he said that.

“Let’s just say I’m learning from you and ignoring my orders. Besides, my friend needs help, and I’m not gonna sit around and do nothing when I have the power to save someone.”

“ _JUMP!_ ”

“ _Authorised._ ”

“Transform!”

“ _Progrise! RISING HOPPER!_ ”

Aruto transformed into Zero-One before unfolding his blade and looking at Fuwa.

“I’ll handle things here. You continue on with Rina and find her father. I’m counting on you.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, you idiothopper.”

Fuwa lowered his gun as he gestured for Rina to follow him into the lab as Aruto engaged the Magias. As they ventured into the lab, debris was scattered everywhere, with destroyed machinery and exposed wires hanging from the ceiling.

“How are we gonna find your Dad in this mess?”

“I have something that could help us.”

Rina took off her bag and set it on the floor, and opened it. She took out numerous tiny drones activated them with her phone.

“Drones activated. Now search for this place for biosignatures.”

The drones then flew off in multiple directions as Fuwa scouted the room for anything useful. He found a notebook, but some of the pages were torn out, and the writing was awful.

“Ah… I can’t make sense of this. But I feel like this wasn’t any old research lab. Rina, you got anything?”

“Yeah. One of my drones located something.”

“Well, then lead the way.”

Fuwa followed Rina as they continued into the lab.

“ _FANG!_ ”

“ _Progrise Key confirmed. Ready to utilize._ ”

Aruto, on the other hand, generated a long row of teeth from his blade and slashed at the Magia twice, destroying them.

“ _BITING DISPATCH SLASH!_ ”

As he finished cleaning up the stragglers, the Onycho Magia swooped in and fired several fireballs at Aruto.

“So you finally decided to show up, huh? Well, now you get to play with me!”

He dived in and out as Aruto struggled to dodge his relentless assault.

“Well, now’s a good time to bring it out.”

He brought out the Falcon Key and activated it.

“ _WING!_ ”

“ _Authorised._ ”

Zea beamed out a giant Falcon that pummeled the Magia into the ground before circling Aruto.

“Oh, you’re gonna be sorry now.”

“ _Progrise!_ ”

His armour rearranged itself again as the Falcon broke itself apart and filled in the gaps.

“ _Fly to the sky._ ”

“ _FLYING FALCON!_ ”

“ _Spread your wings and prepare for a force._ ”

Aruto then levitated into the sky and charged at the Magia, tackling it in midair before throwing it down. The Magia fired countless needles from its body, which Aruto dodged gracefully before swinging around kicking the Magia in the chest. The two continued their scuffle as the Magia flew off with Aruto giving chase.

“Get back here!”

Back where Fuwa, they followed Rina’s droid until they found him tied to a chair in the middle of a room.

“Dad.”

Rina rushed over to her Dad and untied him from the chair as Fuwa scouted the area.

“This looks like the main computer area. Let me see if the computers are still active. Maybe I can find out what happened in this lab.”

As Rina finished untying her Dad, he embraced her in a warm hug.

“I’m so happy you are safe. I’m sorry for putting you through this.”

“It’s okay. I just wanted to see you again.”

Rina hugged her father back, although her face remained emotionless.

“Have you been doing good in school?”

“Yeah. I’ve made a lot of new friends and joined a club.”

“I’m so happy to hear that.”

The two continued to hug each other as Fuwa found a tablet lying on the ground, the screen was cracked, but it looked like it was still operational. He picked it up and turned it on.

“What’s this? Research Notes?”

He began flipping through the notes as it showed blueprints and diagrams of various Magias and maps of the human body.

“This can’t be. All those Magias we were fighting…”

“They were humans turned into cybernetic monsters.”

Rina’s father walked up to him and began to explain.

“I should know. 10 years ago, I was kidnapped by Shocker and forced to work on this strange machine, they called it Project: Ark. I wasn’t told anything else, only that if I wanted to live, I would shut up and do as I was told. I eventually managed to escape, but then they sent that Magia after me and well, you know the rest.”

Fuwa looked at him like he expected this but nonetheless continued to read through the tablet. As he was reading, more Trilobites Magias filled the area.

“I-I-Intruder Alert.”

Fuwa put the tablet away as he fired onto the incoming Magia.

“I’m assuming these are the rejects. No wonder they seemed like zombies compared to the others.”

“Please! You have to protect my daughter!”

“Don’t worry, old man.”

He brought out the key Yua gave and activated it.

“ _POWER!_ ”

He pried it open and slotted it into the riser.

“ _Authorised._ ”

“ _Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider._ ”

“Transform!”

“ _Shotrise_.”

He fired off the bullet as it impacted the Magias before backhanding it as it came back to him, enveloping him in black and white armour with red outlines. The armour had a gorilla motif to it.

“ _PUNCHING KONG!_ ”

“ _Enough power to annihilate a mountain_.”

“I won’t let another family get ripped apart ever again. Not after what happened 5 years ago!”

The Magia fired on him, which he effortlessly blocked using his giant fists before grabbing one and swinging it around, knocking the others over and throwing it against the wall. He proceeded to smash through several more Magias with ease as Aruto crashed through the ceiling with the Onycho Magia in tow. The Magia spotted Rina’s father and attempted to kill him by firing more needles from his hands. He barely got out of the way. But in the process, the tablet was destroyed as the needles pierced through it.

“NO!”

Fuwa screamed as he faced the Magia with murderous intent.

“ _POWER!_ ”

Fuwa brought his hands together as he charged his riser with power.

“Wait! Wait! Wait!”

“ _PUNCHING BLAST!_ ”

Fuwa fired off his fist with Aruto barely getting out of the way as they lifted the Magia into the air and tore through its body with ease.

“ _PUNCHING BLAST!_ ”

The fists returned to him as Aruto rushed over to check on Rina and her Father.

“Are you two okay?

“Yeah. We’re fine.”

As Aruto was checking on them, a black scorpion tail came out from the shadows and attempted to stab Rina’s Father.

“LOOK OUT!”

Aruto put himself in between them and took the full force of the blow, causing his key to fly out of his belt. The key landed in the hands of a shadowy figure as the scorpion tail retracted into his hand.

“Who are you?”

The figure said nothing as it disappeared into the smoke. Aruto frantically looked around but to no avail.

“What just happened?”

The figure strolled through another part of the lab. On his waist was a similar driver to the Cyclone Riser but black and yellow in colour. He removed his purple key and cancelled his transformation as Jin met up with him.

“Horobi. That was nasty, you know.”

“It would cause too much trouble if they knew about the true purpose of Ark. Besides, now we have two Progrise Keys in our possession.”

“We’re one step closer to completing Phase 1 of our plan.”

Jin giggled as the two of them walked off into the distance.

The next day, Rina hung out with Aruto and Yu as they grabbed some burgers to eat.

“So, I guess you know everything now.”

“Mm. Rina-chan board ‘Tee-hee.’”

“It sounded like you two had a fun trip together.”

Yu commented as she continued to eat her burger.

“Wait. You weren't linked up with me?”

“I figured you had things handled after I gave you the key, so I used the time to compose more songs for the group.”

“Master Aruto lost the Flying Falcon key.”

“IZU! DON’T WORD IT LIKE I LOST IT ON PURPOSE!”

Yu laughed in response as the three continued to hang out throughout the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank You for reading Chapter 5. This chapter took a while to make, mostly due to the fact that I had trouble with setting things up and getting things to work. I wanted to get Rina in on the action but I didn't know how to do that especially since she had no connection to the main plot yet and was originally gonna let her father take over her role. After some discussion with my team, I decided to settle for the kidnapping plot so it would give Rina a reason to get involved with the plot and have Fuwa interact with her. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and look forward to future ones.
> 
> \- GMMX


	6. The Flames of Passion

Jin twirled his gun around as he approached Horobi.

“Horo~bi. Now that we have two Progrise Keys, how about you let me use one now? I want to be able to fight like you do.”

“It’s far too early for you, little bird. We still need to collect battle data from the Zetsumerise Keys. That way, we can fully awaken the Ark and plunge humanity into a never-ending hell.”

Horobi turned away from him, his voice as monotonous as ever.

“Stingy. You’ve been calling me little bird ever since I was a kid. I’m all grown up now. I can handle myself just fine.”

Horobi smirked at Jin’s reply as he handed him another Zetsumerise Key.

“Give this to the scientists over at Shocker. It’s time to make a new friend.”

Jin giggled as he took the key from Horobi’s hand.

Meanwhile, Aruto was accompanying Setsuna, Rina and Shizuku as the three of them walked around Akihabara.

“So, guys, where do you want to go first?”

“There are several anime shops I want to go to. Oh, but there’s also a hero show that’s coming up later. But there’s also Manga stores and video games stores I want to visit. Oh and…”

Setsuna immediately spoke up in response to Aruto’s question, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Calm down, Setsuna. I know you’re excited, but let’s try and think this through. The hero show should be starting in about 30 minutes. I think we should go there first so we can get a good spot secured.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I’m interested in studying the movements of the actors.”

“Mm. Rina-chan board ‘Excited.’”

Shizuku and Rina nodded in agreement as Setsuna was dragged him along over to the hero show. The show was a recreation of one of the many battles Ichigou had fought Shocker. In this case, it was his battle against Bat Man.

“I will turn you all into my vampire slaves!”

Bat Man proceeded to make an intimidating pose as he approached the audience.e HH

“Oh no! Bat Man has entered the audience! Everybody be careful!”

The stage MC provided commentary as the actor loomed towards the audience.

“Now then, who should be my first victim?”

Bat Man looked around eagerly before turning towards Shizuku.

“I’ll start with you!”

He grabbed Shizuku and led her towards the stage.

“Oh no! Bat Man has kidnapped a girl from the audience!”

“Kyaaa!! Somebody save me!”

Shizuku, ever the natural actress, gave her best effort in portraying her role as a damsel in distress.

“Nobody’s coming to save you! Now to make you my vampire slave!”

“Wow, they’re really into it, aren’t they?”

“Well, Shizuku has also been one to immerse herself into a role no matter where.”

Aruto closely observed the show with intrigue as he talked with Setsuna.

“Hold it right there!”

Ichigou came out from behind the stage and struck a pose as he faced Bat Man.

“K-Kamen Rider? What are you doing here? Stay outta my way!”

“As long as there is evil in the world. I will always be there to stop it! Take this! RIDER KICK!”

Ichigou jumped up and performed his famous kick as he kicked the monster away.

“Ahhhhh. You got me…”

The monster flopped over as Ichigo walked over to Shizuku.

“Are you okay little miss?”

He stretched out his hand as he helped Shizuku up.

“Thank you, Ichigou! You’re my hero!”

Shizuku hugged him and smiled as the audience erupted into cheers before another voice rang out from behind the stage.

“Ohhhh. ‘As long as there is evil.’ huh?”

Suddenly the background exploded into bits as a drill like Magia stepped out from the rubble. It was the Vicarya Magia. He spun his drills around as he eyed Ichigou.

“Well then. Let’s see how you handle a real Shocker Monster!”

He charged at Ichigou and swung widely as he barely managed to dodge. However, the audience continued to cheer for Ichigo, blissfully unaware of the danger they were in.

“Hey, Rina? Can you cover for me? I need to make sure this doesn’t get out of hand.”

“Mm. Rina-chan board ‘Leave it to me.’”

Aruto quietly slipped away and donned his driver.

“Transform!”

“ _RISING HOPPER!_ ”

He leapt onto the stage just as the Magia took another swing at Ichigo, intercepting him with a kick.

“Are you okay, Mr. Ichigo?”

“Y-Yeah. Who are you?”

“My name is Zero-One. I’ve come to help you.”

Aruto nodded to him as he faced the Magia.

“Aruto, do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

“Nope. **Help me.** ”

Yu asked him through her earpiece as he weakly replied to her.

“Well, you’re lucky I have some experience with this.”

“How do you hav-Oh right, you hang Shizuku a lot.”

“Anyway, this is a hero show. So already, this isn’t your standard combat zone. You gotta exaggerate your movement, get the audience to cheer for you and play up your heroics.”

“That sounds like a pain already.”

“Unless you rather have people panic.”

“Just tell me what to do.”

As Yu and Aruto went back and forth, the Magia attempted to charge at him again. Aruto tried to kick him but was met with a resounding clang noise as the impact reverberated throughout his body.

“OWWWWW!!! Okay, that actually hurt a lot! What the hell is this guy made of?”

He kicked him repeatedly before finally knocking him back. He attempted to bring out his blade before Yu stopped him.

“Not a good idea. If people actually saw that you had a real weapon, this whole charade will fall apart. Stick with hand-to-hand.”

“But this guy’s armour is seriously tough. I can’t keep this up without breaking something.”

“Use Biting Shark! I can help cover you while you change forms! Now, repeat after me.”

“Alright. Everybody, this monster is really tough, but he’s no match for me. As long as evil exists in this world, good will always rise up to defeat it. No matter what!”

Yu used her earpiece to gain access to the special effects panel as Aruto brought out his Biting Shark key. She activated the smoke machine as Aruto changed into his Biting Shark form.

“ _BITING SHARK!_ ”

“Alright! It’s time for some shark and awe! Heh heh. Everybody, are you ready?!”

Aruto addressed the crowd as he pumped his fist towards the area, eliciting a response from the crowd, to which they responded with a resounding cheer.

“Come on! Let me hear you scream! ARE…YOU…READY?”

The crowd got even louder as their cheers echoing through the streets, drawing in an even bigger crowd. Aruto then leaned in and whispered something into Ichigou’s ear as he nodded in agreement.

“Alright! Mr. Ichigou, let’s do this together!”

“With the two of us working together. There’s nothing we can’t do!”

The two struck heroic poses, and they got ready to face off against the Magia. Aruto proceeded to rapidly slash against the Magia with his fins as Ichigou delivered a series of kicks. Aruto pinpointing each impact with well-timed fang shaped bullets from his fingers to sell the act.

“Impossible! I’m being pushed back by this imposter?”

“This is the power of a hero! Now Zero-One! Let’s finish this!”

He jumped up into the air as Aruto activated his finisher.

“ _BITING IMPACT!_ ”

He concentrated his power into his fins as they glowed with energy as he rushed forward towards the Magia and brought his fins together, syncing up with Ichigo’s Kick.

“RIDER KICK!”

“ _BITING IMPACT!_ ”

The force sent the Magia flying back as he stumbled onto the ground. The drill on his head started to sizzle a bit as he grabbed it in fear.

“Oh no! I can’t stay here any longer! I’ll remember this Zero-One and Ichigo!”

He rammed his drills into the ground as he made his escape. Ichigou grabbed Aruto’s hand and raised it alongside Shizuku’s and Bat Man’s hand as they all bowed down towards the audience.

“And so once again, the day has been saved by Kamen Rider Ichigo! However, he couldn’t have done it without the timely intervention of his trusted partner Kamen Rider Zero-One!”

“Thank you so much for coming!”

The audience erupted into cheers as the actors made their way off stage, and Shizuku returned to the audience. Meanwhile, backstage, Ichigou took off his helmet as he congratulated Aruto.

“Thanks for your help Zero-One. Things could’ve gotten messy if anything went wrong.”

“I just did what I could to help. You caught on quick with the situation, and the whole charade went off without a hitch.”

“I guess so. If the real Ichigo were here, I’m sure he would’ve been proud of you.”

“Maybe.”

He looked at his helmet longingly as Aruto gave his reply. They gave their regards to each other and went their separate ways. Aruto hurried back to the group in the meantime.

“That was some nice acting you did there.”

“I was just repeating what you told me to say. I’m just glad things didn’t fall apart.”

“So how did it feel? Being the center of attention and all.”

“It felt good, even if people were none the wiser. It felt good to help people in need.”

“Well, it’s the same feeling the girls have whenever they go up on stage. Hopefully, you learned something from this experience.”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go back to working on a new song. Have fun with the rest of your trip.”

Yu exchanged words with him as he ran back. Setsuna asked him about his whereabouts when he came back, which he had Rina explain for him.

“Anway, so what did you guys think of that show? It was amazing, right? Especially the part where Zero-One showed up to save Ichigou. Oh man, I felt like my heart was gonna explode!”

Setsuna was busy gushing about the hero show as they walked around Akihabara some more.

“The fight choreography was quite solid, and I really felt the essence of heroes emanating from the two actors. They did a splendid job portraying their characters. Although…”

“Although?”

“I can’t help but feel like the actor who played Zero-One felt familiar somewhat. Like he kinda reminds me of you, Aruto.”

“Eh? Is that so…”

Aruto scratched his head in response to Shizuku’s observation.

“Although, come to think of it. Aruto did leave at the same time Zero-One appeared…Hmmm.”

Setsuna and Shizuku looked at Aruto inquisitively as they contemplated the recent events.

“Rina…anytime now.”

“Rina-chan board ‘Awawawa.’”

Shizuku and Setsuna leaned closer to Aruto as he finally relented.

“Okay, fine. I’ll tell you guys everything.”

“You give up way too easily, Aruto.”

“Well, it’s easier than having to stack on lie after lie and having it crumble down when you’re finally caught. I’d rather just admit when I’m caught, with obvious exceptions, of course.”

Rina interjected as Aruto proceeded to explain to Setsuna and Shizuku about everything that happened.

“Ohhhh. So that’s why I felt that sense of familiarity when Zero-One was up on stage. It was you the entire time.”

“YOU’RE A KAMEN RIDER? THIS IS SO AMAZING!”

Setsuna grabbed his hand and jumped up and down like a puppy. Shizuku meanwhile entertained her thoughts for a while.

“That also means the Magia we fought earlier was the real deal. He’ll probably show up sooner or later. Although I need to talk to Yu about countermeasures. That time we barely managed to escape. I don’t think we’ll be that lucky next time.”

“Hmmm. Rina-chan Board ‘Eureka.’”

Rina held up a lightbulb drawing to her face as she began to explain her idea.

“I think I saw it briefly, but I think the Magia’s head caught on fire. Whatever material his armour is made of, I don’t believe it reacts very well to high temperatures.”

“High temperatures…hmmm. Hm?”

Suddenly an image flashed in Aruto’s mind. It was an image of Setsuna’s live performance, where pyrotechnics were going off everywhere., it was the spitting image of a passionate and high energy performance.

“I think I got an idea now. Hey Yu?”

He placed his driver onto his waist as he contacted Yu.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Can you make a fire-based form? I think I figured out how to get through his thick armour.”

“I’m a little busy with composing a new song, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Aruto removed the belt as Yu got to work on creating the new key.

“Alright, while we’re waiting for that Magia to show up again. We should continue our day trip. Can’t let the looming threat of a Magia attack bring down our mood, can we?”

Aruto clapped his hands together as the four continued with their day trip. They visited various anime shops and played at the local arcade for a few hours.

“Ahhh. I bought so much stuff, I’ll have to find a place to store all of this when I get back to the Student Council room.”

“Ah, right. Your parents don’t allow this kind of stuff, do they?”

“No, sadly not. The council and clubroom are a safe haven for me, where I can store my stuff and just be Setsuna Yuki, not Nana Nakagawa.”

Setsuna stretched her arms outwards as she conversed with Aruto. The streets were empty, leaving only the 4 of them as they walked across the streets.

“Rina, did you have fun at the Arcade?”

“Mmm. The arcade was very fun, especially since I went with all of you guys.”

Shizuku smiled at Rina as Rina replied to her.

“You know, I’m surprised we haven’t gotten attacked yet. You would think that Magia would’ve shown up by now.”

As soon as Aruto finished his sentence, the wall before them came crashing down as the Vicarya Magia made his entrance again.

“WHERE ARE YOU ZERO-ONE?”

“Of course, it happens as soon as I point it out.”

Aruto quickly donned his driver as he walked up to the Magia.

“You want Zero-One? I’m right here! Come and get me!”

He provoked the Magia as he activated his key.

“ _FANG_!”

“ _Authorised._ ”

The Magia tried to charge at him only to get knocked back by the giant grasshopper and shark.

“Transform!”

“ _Progrise! BITING SHARK!_ ”

“ _Fangs that chomp through concrete._ ”

He engaged the Magia as he rapidly sliced at him with his fins, to which he responded by ramming his drills into his chest.

“You think that kind of attack will work on me!?”

Aruto tumbled to the floor as Fuwa and Yua arrived on the scene.

“Goddammit, Zero-One. Lying down on the job again, are you?”

“Fuwa!”

Fuwa transformed into Vulcan as he rapidly fired at the Magia to no avail.

“What the hell? What is this guy made out of?”

“Well, now’s a good enough time as any to field test this. Hey Fuwa! Catch!”

Yua brought out a blue briefcase like object and threw it towards Fuwa.

“What this?”

“Test this out for me, will you?”

“I really am just your guinea pig, aren’t I?”

He opened it up and twisted it, transforming it into a shotgun.

“ _SHOTGUN RISE!_ ”

He cocked the shotgun and fired it towards the Magia, launching it backwards. The resulting recoil also sent him flying back as he stumbled onto the floor.

“I’ll need to find a countermeasure to reduce the recoil on the gun.”

“Yaiba! You’re asking for too much here!”

As Yua and Fuwa butt heads again, Yu arrived on the scene holding a red Progrise Key with a tiger’s image on it.

“Aruto! It’s done!”

She threw the key towards him.

“Ah. Thanks, Yu!”

He activated the key and scanned it on his driver as Zea beam down a giant tiger.

“ _FIRE!_ ”

“ _Authorised._ ”

“Alright! Let’s turn up the heat, shall we?”

“ _Progrise!_ ”

“ _GIGANT FLARE!_ ”

The tiger broke itself apart as it attached itself to his suit.

“ _FLAMING TIGER!_ ”

“ _Explosive Power of 100 bombs.”_

Fuwa also changed forms and assumed his Punching Kong form.

“ _PUNCHING KONG!_ ”

“Try this on for size!”

He inserted his key into the shotgun and took aim at the Magia.

“ _Progrise key confirmed ready to utilize._ ”

He then fired off a giant fist-shaped energy blast towards the Magia as Aruto launched a massive fireball at the same time.

“ _PUNCHING CASE SHOT!_ ”

The resulting explosion destroyed both of the drills on the Magia’s hand as he looked at them in shock.

“I see. So Punching Kong can handle recoil. I’ll have to make a note of this.”

Yu continued to observe as she diligently took notes.

“He’s all yours, Aruto.”

“Roger that! I’m fired up and ready to bring the heat!”

Fuwa immediately turned around as he started to snicker. Aruto then let loose a stream of flames from his palms alternating between left and right as he melted right through the Magia’s armour.

“Hmph. Nice work, Aruto.”

Fuwa nodded towards him as Aruto charged towards the Magia, landing several flame-infused strikes against the Magia.

“Hey, Aruto! You can charge up your attacks as well!’

Yu shouted at him as he gathered his energy into his palms and released it in an explosive burst sending the Magia flying backwards.

“Alright, time for the explosive finish! Setsuna, I’m gonna need your help with this one.”

“Eh?”

“We’re gonna finish this with your special move!”

Setsuna nodded as she ran towards Aruto. He then activated his finisher as he cupped his hands and proceeding to build up energy between them, with Setsuna copying his motions.

“ _FLAMING IMPACT!_ ”

“Alright, here we go!”

““SETSUNA SCARLET STORM!””

Aruto released the built-up energy towards the Magia as it circled around him and trapped him in a cyclone of fire, causing him to spontaneously combust from the heat.

“ _FLAMING IMPACT!_ ”

“I guess we saved the world again.”

They high fived each other as Aruto cancelled his transformation.

“Hey Yu, you would not believe what happened today.”

Aruto met up with the gang as they talked about today’s events as Fuwa and Yua observed them from afar.

“You sure it’s okay for him to just reveal his identity like that?”

“As his supervisor and squad leader, I think it’s fine. He trusts them, and they trust him. That kind of bond isn’t easy to come by.”

“Hmph. You never did follow the rules.”

Back inside the Shocker base, Jin gave Horobi the cracked Vicarya Key.

“Ahhh. I wish we could’ve gotten more data from this.”

“Pay no worries, Jin. We will get sufficient data in due time.”

Horobi placed the key into a storage compartment as one more voice sounded out from inside.

“So, when do I get to play?”

A man wearing a black jacket stepped out from the shadows as he smirked at Horobi.

“Patience Ikazuchi. You’ll have your fun eventually. Once Naki has gathered enough data on Zero-One and his gang, you will be free to deal with them however you like.”

“Heh, I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, this ‘Zero-One’ fellow will be able to keep me entertained for long enough.”

Horobi got up from his seat and proceeded to walk towards the door.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have to meet with the Great Leader to discuss our progress so far. Don’t get into any trouble.”

Horobi made his way into the audience chamber as he knelt down before the Great Leader.

“Great Leader. Progress is moving swiftly towards the completion of Phase 1 of Project: Ark. Everything will soon fall into place.”

“Good. That’s very good. Soon Shocker will rise up again and take over this world using the Ark as our tool. Now then, I have something else to discuss with you.”

The Great Leader snapped his fingers as one of his assistants brought out another driver similar to Horobi’s.

“It’s about your son, Jin. I believe it’s about time we let him into the fold.”

Horobi smiled as he took the driver from the assistant’s hand.

“For the glory of Shocker.”

“For the glory of Shocker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading Chapter 6. I had a bit of writers block with the start of this chapter as this originally going was only going to have just Setsuna be present in this chapter and I had trouble figuring out how she would act in these situations. After some discussions with my team, they told me to add in some more of the girls so it'll be easier for me to make them bounce off of each other and make it seem more natural. Jin and Horobi also get a spotlight here in this chapter and Ikazuchi finally makes his appearance so I'm hoping you guys are excited for what they will do in the future. Anyway, this chapter was really fun to write since it was particularly light chapter and had a lot of unique scenarios you wouldn't normally come across. Until next time, I'll be seeing you all in the next chapter.
> 
> \- GMMX


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